Chicago Students Miss Another Day Of Class As Teachers Protest Amid Surging COVID Cases, School Systems Having Issues Nationwide

Students in Chicago are missing class again as teachers protest teaching in-person as COVID-19 cases surge. And they aren’t the only school system in the nation having issues due to the pandemic. More inside…

COVID-19 cases are rising and everyone is feeling the effects, specifically school systems. Again.

Thousands of students in Chicago are sitting at home instead of sitting in a classroom for a second straight day as teachers and administrators protest doing face-to-face. Chicago teachers and the Chicago Public School (CPS) system - which is the nation’s third-largest school district - aren’t seeing eye-to-eye over COVID-19 protocols.

The Chicago Teachers Union, which voted to revert to online instruction, told teachers to stay home Wednesday during the latest COVID-19 surge while both sides negotiate. CPS rejected a return to remote learning, so teachers went on strike and linked up for a car caravan protest outside City Hall in the Loop.

 

 

Dozens of vehicles participated in a Chicago Teachers Union car caravan protest tonight outside City Hall.

CTU president: ‘If you want to get us into the schools quicker, provide testing’https://t.co/Wf1IKRRKBs pic.twitter.com/K6hSVYmFqZ

— Ashlee Rezin (@Ashlee_Rezin) January 5, 2022

 

 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleaded with teachers to return to the classroom.

”If you care about our students, if you care about their families, as we do, we will not relent, enough is enough! We are standing firm and we are going to fight to get our kids back in in-person learning! Period. Period! Full stop!" Mayor Lightfoot said.

As negotiations continue, the president of the Chicago Teachers Union said students might be out of school for two weeks if the two sides can't reach a resolution on COVID-19 safety measures.

Chicago Public Schools isn’t the only school system in the nation affected by the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the community, CMSD will move to remote learning for week of Jan. 3. Monday, Jan. 3 is a professional day for teachers. Students will log on and follow their class schedules Tuesday through Friday.See full CEO message at https://t.co/CNN41ossRZ pic.twitter.com/tXaq80NrNi

— Cleveland Metropolitan School District (@CLEMetroSchools) January 2, 2022

Cleveland Metropolitan School District announced the first week of January classes will be remote. Schools in New Jersey have gone remote:

JERSEY SCHOOLS GO REMOTE: Trenton, Camden, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Jersey City, Harrison, Union City, West NY, Weehawken, Guttenberg, East Newark, North Bergen, Linden all remote for 1 week, Newark for 2 weeks. Hoboken till Weds. Secaucus half-days in-person: https://t.co/WxgpNQHFzC

— NY BATs (@NYBATs) December 31, 2021

Schools in Pennsylvania are switching to virtual learning:

Schools in Pennsylvania are going back to virtual learning due to staff shortages. 3 yrs into this crap and billions dumped into our teachers unions and children can't attend school because of lack of teachers. Where's all this money going?

— Hunting Wolf In PA (@SlayerWolf11) January 3, 2022

And so are schools in Charles County, Maryland:

Students in Charles County, Maryland, will attend school virtually the first week after winter break due to COVID-19 concerns, school officials said Wednesday. https://t.co/A3lr49zSU7

— WTOP (@WTOP) December 30, 2021

Burbio's K-12 School Opening Tracker reported at least 4,500 schools across the country will close their physical buildings for one day or more in the first week of 2022.

It’s definitely starting to feel like when the pandemic first hit as cases continue to rise with new variants like Omicron and Delta. We can’t blame teachers that don’t want to go in the schools physically. They’re risking their lives when they go into a classroom filled with students who could have possibly been exposed to the virus. Still, the impact of lack of in person learning is definitely real and is having a negative affect on many children.

Photos: Ashlee Rezin /Chicago Sun-Times via AP

source: theybf